The Final Part Of StarWars.Com’s Interview With Dave Filoni

The final part of StarWars.Com’s exclusive interview with Dave Filoni is now up, where Dave goes in to detail on the events that took place in the “Star Wars Rebels” season finale, including some interesting details on Darth Vader and Ahsoka. Here is a portion of the interview:

StarWars.com: Does the Ghost crew know that Darth Vader exists? Have they heard of him?

Dave Filoni: That’s another thing you battle all the time. There’s a popular thought among fans that people all know who this guy is. Why would they? I don’t think people on Coruscant really care or know that Palpatine is a Sith Lord. A lot of them wouldn’t really know what that means. Many of them would say, “Well, the trains are running on time.” Everyone’s doing well. That’s in his favor.

Vader is a known person to some, but to very few, I think. He’s known of in whispers. The Imperials know about him, but a lot of them haven’t met him. He’s not military. He’s more the fanatical wing of the Empire. One reason I believe he’s not well known is the fact that if you encounter him, you usually don’t survive.

StarWars.com: When I was watching Vader in the last episode, I thought about how you really see a different version of him in each Star Wars movie. Do you have an idea of where Vader is at mentally during Rebels?

Dave Filoni: Oh, yeah. You have to. I’ve always believed that Vader has no repentant bone in his body until he realizes his son is alive. Luke is the opportunity that triggers everything that occurs. His awareness of Luke being alive forces him to remember his past in a way that’s uncomfortable for him. It forces him to remember Padmé. It forces him down a path of, “Maybe my son will join me, and together we can rule the galaxy.” Luke really has to get him past that thought, which kind of culminates in that scene on the bridge on Endor, when Vader says, “It’s too late for me.” That realization only happens because of Luke.

Up until that point, I think he’s a destroyer. He’s an incredibly angry, hate-filled destroyer. He hates himself. He hates what happened. He hates all his former friends because he thinks they betrayed him. Anakin Skywalker thinks that he never switched sides. He thinks he’s still fighting the good fight. He thinks Obi-Wan betrayed him. He thinks Padmé betrayed him and that led to her, and their child’s, death. He thinks the Jedi were staging a coup against the Republic. He thinks the Republic was weak, and that’s why it became corrupt and fell apart despite Palpatine’s attempts to save it. Overall, he internally hates himself for everything that occurred because he thinks that he wasn’t strong enough to make things right.

He’s consumed by these ideas and is pretty much trapped. He has no option aside from embracing his new persona — Darth Vader. What we encounter in Rebels now is just a wall of anger and hate — everything that the dark side manifests.

It’s interesting to look at how he might relate to Ahsoka now. She is a living memory of who he was. Even worse, she knew the good person he was.

StarWars.com: With Clone Wars ending the way it did, and Rebels moving to a new time period, did that give you any new opportunities or paths for Ahsoka that you’re now glad to have?

Dave Filoni: It didn’t, really. I’ve always had a long game plan for Ahsoka, personally having been really involved with creating her with George [Lucas]. I’ve gone through different iterations over the years where she didn’t survive the Clone Wars, and then I had character paths where she did. I’m constantly developing this character. I know where she is now. I know what her failings are and what will come to haunt her this year, which I think makes her really interesting.

The original plan for her four-part arc in The Clone Wars Season Five was to bring her back to the Jedi Order at the end. I said to George, “Well, that would be what we normally do. What if we keep her expelled and see where it goes?” Luckily, he agreed.

I think the big question is, where does she go from here?

StarWars.com: Will we ever see what happened with her between Clone Wars and Rebels?

Dave Filoni: Maybe. I know what happens up to the end of Clone Wars, and I have ideas about what happens after that. If we have a good enough story, we’ll tell it. I think there is a good story about how she becomes Fulcrum.

Be sure to check out the full interview over at StarWars.com where Dave shares more info on how he thinks Vader feels about Ahsoka, the Inquisitor, and if the Zillo Beast will make a return!